Public affairs firms ink partnership, aiming to bolster efforts with Hispanic community

Public affairs firms in Trenton and Hillside have joined forces in a strategic partnership, they announced Thursday.

MBI, formerly known as MBI GluckShaw, said the formal partnership with JLM Associates, a full-service, minority-owned firm, will bolster its diversity efforts, particularly with the Hispanic community.

JLM’s founder and president is Janice de Avila, who leads the firm focused on public outreach, community development, certification processes and more.

“MBI’s new partnership with JLM Associates and Janice de Avila is yet another milestone in the firm’s unwavering commitment to making MBI the most diverse lobbying shop in Trenton,” Raul “Rudy” Garcia, MBI’s president, said in a prepared statement. “Janice is an enthusiastic professional that shares MBI’s commitment to providing quality client service. More importantly, Janice’s reach into New Jersey’s Hispanic community is deep and strong.”

In addition to her role at JLM, de Avila is also executive director of the Historic Midtown Elizabeth Special Improvement District.

“I am very excited about our new partnership with MBI,” she said in a statement. “With the new leadership and staff at MBI, there is tremendous energy right now, an energy that instantly attracted me to the firm and led us to this strategic partnership.”